44 replies to this topic

[Rubens Hakkamacher]

I understand Silverstone will be "shown" at some cinemas in England next month?

This sounds like an interesting idea - does anyone know if this will be in HD, or some other format?

[imaginesix]

15 pounds for cinema-size HD broadcast, as reported in this thread.

[Ross Stonefeld]

But I thought F1 isn't broadcast in HD.

[roadie]

Originally posted by Ross Stonefeld
But I thought F1 isn't broadcast in HD.

I think it's down to whichever company is filming and broadcasting it. FOM doesn't do the British GP; it's ITV's coverage that's being used as the world stream.

[Mat]

If Vue was showing it in HD then the cameras at the track are HD format? which would mean atleast england is getting it in HD?

I doubt it. I think Vue are confusing 'HD' with 'widescreen'.

[Jackman]

I'm wondering if anyone at Vue thought to ask Bernie about this - Bernie never gives it away for free, and charging £15 a head is just asking for a call from the FOM lawyers.

[Ross Stonefeld]

It shouldn't be any different than other countries which have a free feed and a pay-per-view feed.

[gawfie]

FOM doesn't do the British GP; it's ITV's coverage that's being used as the world stream.

FOM are doing the British GP from this year. There is only 3 or 4 races they don't do now.

[Jackman]

Bernie gets money from both of those feeds - unless Vue have done a deal for the screening rights, he's not currently getting anything from the cinema chain.

[Ross Stonefeld]

I kinda doubt they'd even have the feed and would be announcing it if they hadn't checked on it first.

This is hardly a certain someone linking up with a certain other someone and doing a rogue broadcast.

[jonpollak]

Link

He's GOTTA know about this..
Jp

[Jackman]

If he know didn't before, he will now.

[jonpollak]

I'm callin' his ass right now

Maybe I can get a free subscrition to BusinessF1 if I squeal on these folks..
Y'know..like they ask punters to shop the pubs without the SKY pint glass in the corner of the screen.

Jp

[Oho]

Originally posted by Mat
If Vue was showing it in HD then the cameras at the track are HD format? which would mean atleast england is getting it in HD?

I doubt it. I think Vue are confusing 'HD' with 'widescreen'.

Really, TV resolution picture on a movie screen would seem awfully soft and blurry, or grainy or both. Even HD level is way way down on 35mm let alone 75mm film format.

[naiboz]

Well I bought 2 tickets for the Edinburgh showing, might as well, it's just the standard ticket price for gold class in the Vue cinemas plus you get free popcorn, coke and a race program.

gotta be better than watching it at home eh

[F1Fanatic.co.uk]

As long as you can take a laptop in to keep an eye on the live timing.

[LB]

Originally posted by jonpollak
I'm callin' his ass right now

Maybe I can get a free subscrition to BusinessF1 if I squeal on these folks..
Y'know..like they ask punters to shop the pubs without the SKY pint glass in the corner of the screen.

Jp

There was a Sky pint glass? None of my locals had it

[imaginesix]

Originally posted by jonpollak
Link

He's GOTTA know about this..
Jp

I'd do that if it was offered here, at least just to try. The picture, sound, and seating quality along with the crowd reacting to their favourite drivers (without drowning out the noise)should all add up to a unique experience, could be fun.

[Clatter]

Originally posted by Mat
If Vue was showing it in HD then the cameras at the track are HD format? which would mean atleast england is getting it in HD?

I doubt it. I think Vue are confusing 'HD' with 'widescreen'.

As the only TV broadcaster for F1 in England is ITV, and as yet they have no HD output there is no chance of England getting it in HD. This does not mean it's not being filmed in HD though.

[Clatter]

Originally posted by naiboz
Well I bought 2 tickets for the Edinburgh showing, might as well, it's just the standard ticket price for gold class in the Vue cinemas plus you get free popcorn, coke and a race program.

gotta be better than watching it at home eh

It's not a bad deal really. I'm paying nearly £200 to go to the GP, and I will still have to pay for my own popcorn, drinks and program .

[mach4]

Originally posted by Oho

Even HD level is way way down on 35mm let alone 75mm film format.

I don't think that's true:


HD vs 35mm film

At this point, the typical audience cannot see the difference between HD and 35mm. Even professionals have a hard time telling them apart. We go through this all the time at NYU ("Was this shot on film or video?").

[Rubens Hakkamacher]

Man, if only they'd just do this in the major cities here in the states....! Ahhhrgg.....

I presume they're doing some sort of buffered-IP transmission for this?

[tidytracks]

I guess the big question is, will the Cinema reverberate to the dulcit tones of James Allen?

Or will they use 5 Live?

Or will it just be the feed, team radio as and when it comes on and no commentary?

[naiboz]

I think its gotta be some sqew on the itv show, minus adverts etc

At the end of the day they have to be providing a decent product, just the pics and team radio or something along those lines isnt gonna cut it

[PEW]

They may use Bob Constanduros who does the commentary at most of the circuits .

[tania_walesuk]

So lets get this right they are or they aren't using HD ? Why are they advertising that they are because I aint going if it isn't HD.

[Rubens Hakkamacher]

Originally posted by tania_walesuk
So lets get this right they are or they aren't using HD ? Why are they advertising that they are because I aint going if it isn't HD.

I'd still go. The quality would still no doubt be better than what you can get with the generation loss of the present broadcast cable system (I remember being pretty impressed when I got my 2001 season recap DVD - MUCH better quality/luminance/saturation and detail. Combined with a decent THX theatre, yeah - that would be cool.

HD would be cooler though, of course. Surround even better, although I could imagine that being farked up pretty good (I'm sure it will be squashed to death, and the surrounds with be just barely there...)


Of course, one of us here has already had a similar sort of experience already.... Maybe he could chime into the worthiness of such a thing as "entertainment"

/ you guys overseas have it lucky - I sometimes drive to another city just to watch the races on a big screen tv with a few other F1 fans that are enthusiastic strangers. A unique experience for one here in the States....
// you guys should also support it, if for no other reason than to foster support for F1 and to show Bernie we're starved for more access/HD...

[Clatter]

Originally posted by tania_walesuk
So lets get this right they are or they aren't using HD ? Why are they advertising that they are because I aint going if it isn't HD.

Probably because they will be getting an HD feed. If I werent already going to the race I would be tempted by this deal. It will be interesting to hear a report from those that do go.

[scousepenguin]

It's the real deal Bernievision:

http://www.f1incinema.com/

I watched the race at my local Vue Cinema, and there were some issues. I would only go again on special occasions.

Firstly, the signal cut out for several minutes due to a rain shower affecting the quality of the satellite signal. We were being very British and polite, shouting " Can we watch ITV?" and only half joking as the all important build up to the race was lost.

Commentary was by good old Eurosport F1 Andrew Marriott, partnered by Johnathan Palmer. Much as i like them as people, they sadly proved somewhat incompetent in reading the story of the race, not to mention that Palmer kept calling Raikkonen "Rakkinen" to the annoyance of all.

Now to rate the picture and sound:

Picture - 7/10. The picture was upscaled to 720p. I know for a fact it was 720p as when the signal was lost, the satellite receiver channel ident clearly said 720p

There were serious issues with jaggies (diagonal stepped edges) and scanlines (lines being blended badly) due to the upscaling algorithm (making a low-def signal hi-def through interpolation rather than using hi-def equipment only).

Nonetheless, it was satisfying to watch the race on such a big screen.

Sound 8/10. Surround sound was good, but obviously not as good as movie surround tends to be.

Overall: 7/10.

A promIsing result, F1. improve in the areas outlined above and you will achieve exceptional results.

[imaginesix]

Thanks scousepenguin. What was the crowd like? Obnoxious, entertaining, ignorant...?

[naiboz]

I have to say it was a bit of a dissapointment.....

Bad:

1) the picture was shown in the wrong aspect ratio, so everything was squeezed slightly making everyone tall and thin and oval shaped wheels etc

2) quality was not that hot, like the man said, heaps of jaggies etc

3) Commentary was bloody terrible, I honestly think I could have done a better job. What was the deal with them just not understanding the tyre rules at all?

4) I didnt care for the surround sound, I just dont think it works very well for what they were showing.

5) Due to demand our showing was moved from Gold class (big comfy seats, table, waiter service, Beer, glasses etc) to a normal screen.

Good:

1) eh, the onboard shots seemed alot more involving, i guess because the screens filling your field of vision and with the volume up loud, you can hear more details from inside the car and track/road noise etc.


Thats about it really, i dont really think it was worth the cash and I wont go to another, I think they're supposed to be showing every race from now on.

Maybe if they showed it in proper gold class, they sorted out the picture/aspect ratio and just showed the ITV show sans commercial breaks then it would be better and maybe just worth it.

If not I wouldnt bother

[scousepenguin]

Originally posted by imaginesix
Thanks scousepenguin. What was the crowd like? Obnoxious, entertaining, ignorant...?

The crowd was really quiet, which was a surprise and a relief. I was expecting Lewis Mania to cause them to be rowdy; instead, they behaved impeccably.

[djned]

i went to the vue in islington. you're right, the crowd was sedate and kept to themselves.

the sound was loud, maybe too loud. the picture was never going to be proper hd, i didn't mind the quality although the onboard cameras aren't the highest-grade input. didn't have any real problems apart from that with jaggies, and the aspect ratio was fine.

the commentary was fairly poor. i'm guessing they've never worked together before? they frequently interrupted/cut off the other. palmer always put me to sleep when he was with murray and this was no different. not having someone in the pit lane to keep us updated was annoying, the commentators were asking questions (about lewis' pace in his second stint) that a ted or louise would have answered. my biggest gripe with the whole concept was that the commentary was aimed at newcomers to the sport. you'd assume people paying £15 to watch a race are real fans and don't need the RPM graphic explained.

favourite part was watching the buildup without commentary. they took the FOM feed uninterrupted, with the ambient noise really helping build the atmosphere. so much better than the rider and blundell show, i can't begin to explain it.

i'll go back if they drop the price. i could justify £15 for a one-off, but not for a regular thing.

btw - looks like bernie is hoping this concept takes off... http://www.f1incinema.com/

[ensign14]

Seeing sporting events at the cinema? Wow, it's like going back 40 years.

[jonpollak]

My thoughts exactly ensign14
I remember seeing the 1968 Indy 500 at a local movie house in LA... back in the day
My dad thought this would be the wave of the future for live sporting events..

Guess he was a little ahead of his time...dear old Dad



Anyone up for an Atlas/Autosport F1 in the Cinema meet and greet for the Hungaroring
Somewhere in London OK?

http://www.odeon.co....trailer/m10759/

Jp

[Buttoneer]

Yeah why not.

[jb_128]

So basically they lied? Explicitly stated on their web page that it would be in HD and then it's PAL with messed up AR? I'd be demanding my money back.

[djned]

Originally posted by jonpollak
Anyone up for an Atlas/Autosport F1 in the Cinema meet and greet for the Hungaroring
Somewhere in London OK?

i'm up for it. suggest leicester square to be central?

if this does happen jp can you make sure you bring your amazing powers of seduction - hangers on like your Race Angel are always welcome.

[Jackman]

Originally posted by djned
btw - looks like bernie is hoping this concept takes off... http://www.f1incinema.com/

Well that confirms that Bernie's getting paid.

[SeanValen]

Originally posted by jonpollak
My thoughts exactly ensign14
I remember seeing the 1968 Indy 500 at a local movie house in LA... back in the day
My dad thought this would be the wave of the future for live sporting events..

Guess he was a little ahead of his time...dear old Dad



Anyone up for an Atlas/Autosport F1 in the Cinema meet and greet for the Hungaroring
Somewhere in London OK?

http://www.odeon.co....trailer/m10759/

Jp

I'm sure Radz might turn up, and I wanna check this big screen f1 out. See how many others I can round up. Sounds cool.

I'm gonna watch the next 2 races at the cinema, sounds ultra weird saying that, but big bass speakers and the engines roar, the 5.1 Dolby Digital will rooaaarrr.

[LB]

Originally posted by ensign14
Seeing sporting events at the cinema? Wow, it's like going back 40 years.

Reminds me of astory I heard about the sign outsidea Glasgow cinema once.

Horror double Bill " The Exorcist " followed by "England v Switzerland football "

(ok it might not have been the exorcist or switzerland but you get the gist)

[jonpollak]

Originally posted by djned


i'm up for it. suggest leicester square to be central?

if this does happen jp can you make sure you bring your amazing powers of seduction - hangers on like your Race Angel are always welcome.

Great djned...been looking forward to meeting ya

Isn't the Lie sester square Vue venue 5 quid dearer?
Otherwise it's Sheperds Bush or Islington right?

Re RA:
Amazing powers of being in the right place at the right time is more like it...
There is someone as good, if not better in our midst
Let's hope she gets the time to join us.
Jp

[jonpollak]

Originally posted by jonpollak
Anyone up for an Atlas/Autosport F1 in the Cinema meet and greet for the Hungaroring
Somewhere in London OK?
Jp

Looks like it been pulled from Vue and Odeon and is now only at something called Showcase
(which is only in places like Dudley and Blewwater)
http://www.showcasecinemas.co.uk/gp/

So... fergetit.
Jp

[Dudley]

And of course they'll blame it on lack of interest, rather than, for instance, the insane 3x the price of seeing a film pricetag,

[djned]

ha, yeah, tickets are still £15



:/